Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup, round 2

I made this again for a party at work yesterday. I added some chili powder to the garam masala and oil - maybe 3 little shakes - and it didn't make any noticeable difference, but I think a little spice would be nice to counter the sweetness.
I also added carrots - about 20 baby carrots cut into thirds - and boiled them with the potato. I would not recommend it, they didn't get as soft and I ended up having to fish them out to make sure they went in the blender, or smashing them individually with the spoon. Maybe if they were shredded it would go better? They didn't make much noticeable difference either, though.

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

I can take zero credit for this soup, it is from Manifest Vegan. I saw it on Pinterest today and the description was intriguing: "this soup has only five ingredients: cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and water!" I said to myself, I can do that - I already have three of those!

I made it for dinner tonight and it's really tasty. It's sweet and has a creamy texture from being blendered, but the surprise chunks of roasted cauliflower are yummy (duh). I'm going to list the directions as I did/wish I had done them, so it's slightly different than Allyson's.

img via: Manifest Vegan

1 head of cauliflower
3 sweet potatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
7 cups water
garam masala
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Chop the garlic and onion. Heat olive oil and some garam masala in a large saucepan. Saute garlic and onion on med-low heat. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. When onions are soft, add potatoes and water. Boil until potatoes are soft. Meanwhile, chop cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garam masala and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 20-30 minutes, then add to potatoes. Carefully blend half, then recombine.

Falafel

These are tasty! From Laurel's Kitchen.

1 medium potato, cooked & mashed
1 medium-large onion, finely chopped
1 large bunch parsley or coriander
2 T oil
4 c (2 cans) ground chick peas
1/4 c sesame seed meal
1 T yogurt
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne
1 t paprika
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350F. Sauté onions in oil until soft. Stir in parsley/coriander and cook briefly. Add to ground chick peas. Mix well with potato, sesame seed meal, yogurt, spices, and lemon juice. Form into balls or patties using 2T each. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes on each side.

Makes 30. 65 cal & <2 g fat each.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe that we make for Christmas morning and that sort of thing.

3 lb small red or white potatoes
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 t black pepper
2 T (6 cloves) minced garlic
2 T minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut potatoes in halves or quarters and toss with all ingredients except parsley. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet and bake 1 hour or until brown and crisp. Turn twice while baking to ensure even browning. Toss cooked potatoes with parsley and serve.

Mom's suggestions:

Skip the parsley,

Cut the garlic in half and you will still have plenty (crush instead of mince)

Use a healthy douse of tamari instead of the salt (and 1  1/2 teaspoons of salt sounds like a lot anyway)

Add one or two large-chopped onions

Add/substitute any other veges you feel like having: carrots are good; cauliflower cooks down very soft, but is yummy!; bell peppers if you like them; sweet potato;firm tofu chunks;  it even makes eggplant yummy. (I don't think that broccoli or asparagus work so well for this.)

Reheats beautifully!

Bean Soup

This is a simple crock-pot soup that I made for Father's Day last year. We were meeting up for a winery tour in the morning, and then everyone came to my house for lunch, so I needed something that could take care of itself for a while. The times below are how our day went, but I'm sure it would be fine with cooking longer in part 1 and shorter in part 2.

2 c mixed dried bean
2 potatoes, cubed
2 quarts water
1 c uncooked macaroni
1 can Rotel tomatoes w/ green chilis
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt, pepper, basil, oregano

Part One: Rinse the beans. Put beans, potato pieces, and water in crock pot. Cook on High for 3 hours.
Part Two: Sauté the onion and garlic in oil until onions are soft. Add the onion and garlic, tomatoes, and macaroni noodles to the crock pot. Salt and spice to taste. (It needs more salt than I expected - canned beans have a lot of salt, while dry beans have none.) Cook on High for 1 hour.

Potato & Mushroom Casserole

I don't know where this came from, probably the back of a soup can. Apparently I didn't feel it necessary to note how long you bake it for, I don't know what's up with that, but it's at least a half hour.

img via: tales of thyme & place

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 c grated cheddar cheese
6-10 potatoes
black pepper
paprika

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Combine condensed soup, cheese, and pepper. Arrange potato slices in a sprayed casserole dish - we usually end up with three long rows of overlapping slices. Top potatoes with soup and cheese mix. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350F "until cheese melts & potatoes are softened."

Edit 5/15/12: I found my mom's recipe card. This recipe is from my aunt Helen, and it bakes covered for 45 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes.

Hasselback Potatoes

This is from a book called Essential Vegetarian. I usually end up just throwing cheese on until it looks good, because I really don't know what three ounces looks like.

4-6 potatoes
2 T butter, melted
1 c breadcrumbs (about 2 slices)
3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
paprika
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Peel the potatoes and cut into halves or quarters. Make downward slices into each half, 1/4 inch or less apart, and stopping about 1/4 inch from cutting all the way through.
Lay the potato halves in a greased 2.5 quart pan. Brush potatoes with melted butter.
Bake 30 minutes.
Take pan from oven, sprinkle potatoes with cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bake 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle with paprika, serve hot with sour cream.

Sweet Potato Casserole

We made this recipe off the back of the can of Dunbar Yams for years, until one day... there was a new recipe. We ended up calling the 1-800 number on the can, and waited while the lady on the other end rummaged around the office and found it for us. I have to admit that I prefer the pecan topping to the marshmallows some people put on their sweet potatoes, because marshmallows kind of freak me out.

Casserole:
40-oz. can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg whites
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter

Combine all the casserole ingredients in a bowl and pour into a shallow baking dish. We usually use a square 9" pan about 2" deep. Combine the topping ingredients - I like to melt the butter so it mixes better - and crumble/spread over the casserole. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.